Lotion applicator



INVENTOR.

MARINA L. MARKLE m wc m ol I! T TORNEY Sept. 17, 1963 M. L. MARKLE LOTION APPLICATOR Filed June 27, 1961 United States Patent 3,103,682 LOTION APPLICATOR Marina Louise Markle, 2401 SW. 170th St., Seattle, Wash. Filed June 27, 1961, Ser. No. 125,901 2 Claims. (Cl. 15244) This present invention relates to the general art of cosmetic applicators and more especially to a suntanning oil or cream applicator for use in applying such lotions before and after exposure to the sun.

The widespread habit of sun bathing has created the need for an applicator for the various creams and lotions used to protect the skin or to increase the tanning efiect or to treat the skin after it has been sunburned and the real need in such a device is one that is readily and conveniently portable. Devices of this order are of course intended for a specific use; consequently they should be made of lightweight materials yet strong enough for their intended purpose and more specially they should be of a design permitting a very compact arrangement for transportation. In this present applicator it is believed that I have met the majority of desirable requirements of a device for this purpose.

A principal object of this present invention therefore 1s to provide an applicator having an extend-able handle so that the various parts of the body can be conveniently treated and most especially wherein the user can easily treat those parts of the body that from their own sensing they know mos-t needs the treatment.

A further object of this invention is to provide an absorbent pad which is fixedly secured to a plastic bracket which will preserve the preferred initial shape of the pad or sponge and yet will admit of convenient washing of the sponge when its need is past so that it may be convenient to carry without an additional container.

A further object of this invention is to provide a plurality of handle elements, telescoping one within the other and having a generally rectangular cross section so as to aid in keeping the device as compact as possible and secondly having a means which insures that the user can with certainty treat an exact spot on their back, for instance, where they cannot actually see the actual application being made.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the disclosure in the drawings or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a lotion applicator made after the teachings of this present invention and showing the various telescoping sections as broken at their midpoint in order to increase the general scale of the drawings;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG- URE 1 showing the same in its folded or telescoped con dition, and illustrating the general compactness of the device;

FIGURE 4 is a typical longitudinal sectional view as might be taken through any of the step joints where two of the telescoping portions of the handle join by telescoping one within the other;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1 and showing the applicator sponge as compressed to deposit lotion on the Referring to the drawings throughout which like reference characters indicate like parts the numeral designates generally the sponge pad. This sponge is preferably one of the oil resistant plastic sponges which will readily absorb suntan lotion or cream and which will 3" 1 03'p682 Patented Sept. 17, 1963 ice .device compact particularly for carrying to and from the point of use, a depression 14 is formed within the pad so that the largest of the handle sections as 20 may be fully entered into the chamber formed by the recess 14 and the further handle receiving recess 16 formed within the bracket member 12. This arrangement makes it possible then to apply increased pressure by means of handle portion 20 to that portion of the sponge directly under the handle portion and in this way considerable more pressure can be given than if pressure were attempted using the entire pad. This permits squeezing out of pad 10 an additional amount of oil, for some special part of the skin, with the margins of the pad insuring that it will be spread out thin on the margins of the applied oil so it will not run to other parts.

A most desirable arrangement for securing bracket 12 to pad 10 is by means of an adhesive along the line 18, there being laterally extending faces of the bracket, as 19 extending outwardly on each side of the handle receiving opening. It is preferred to have the sponge extend out beyond the bracket 12 as indicated throughout the drawings and thus prevent the hard bracket coming in contact with the users skin. 'It will also be noted in FIG URE 3 that there is a sealed portion from the end of the handle indicated at 24 to the left hand end of the sponge indicated at 25.

The handle shown generally a 30 is made up preferably of a plurality of telescoping handle portions as 20, 21 and 22. It is desirable that the joints of the handle can be extended quickly and in order to prevent the handle separating and to give it additional firmness the typical joint as shown in FIGURE 4 is employed. In this figure the thicknes of the material is considerably exaggerated in order to show the functioning of the various parts. Normally the walls of the joints are relatively thin and the stop lugs, as 40 and 42 can be relatively low and in this way the stepping down of the handle size is reduced to a minimum and further in the forming of the non-rigid but relatively stiif plastics it is possible to distort the end portions sufficiently that with low or relatively thin stop lugs the handling units can be assembled conveniently without the necessity of grooving in one of the lugs.

As a desirable accessory a small container 46 is provided which can be of a size to hold one application at least of suitable oil or cream and this may be housed in the smaller tube or handle portion 22 and secured in place preferably by a screwed in closure member 50. This member should have a flange 52 normally of generally rectangular form conforming to the general rectangular fonrn of the chamber into which the tube is telescoped and which is shown in FIGURE 2 as made up of the units 14 and 16. This flange is shown in dotted line in FIGURE 2 to show a desirable relationship making it eays to grasp the extended flange 52.

-It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a 10- tion applicator.

Having thus disclosed by invention, I claim:

1. An applicator for skin creams and lotions comprising: a relatively rigid socket having a handle receiving chamber therein and at least an end opening into said chamber; a telescopic handle having a plurality of sections disposable in said chamber in collapsed relation to form a compact package, said handle being extendable by extending its sections out of said end opening to provide an elongated operating handle having said socket disposed at one end thereof; and a pad of absorbent sponge material secured on said socket for the absorption of a lotion material to be transferred to the skin by application of the sponge thereagainst, said socket and sponge being substantially wider than the largest section of said handle to provide a substantial area of contact, and said socket having an Open bottom to said chamber of a width substantially equal to the width of the largest section of the handle to provide direct contact between the handle and the sponge material, so that pressure on the handle will cause a greater unit pressure on the sponge material therebeneath to increase the flow of lotion material therefrom.

2. An applicator for skin creams and lotions comprising: a substantially rigid socket providing a chamber therein with an end opening, said chamber being substantially rectangular in cross section; a telescopic handle having a plurality of extendable and contractable sections disposable within said chamber when contracted to form a compact package, said handle sections being also rectangular in cross section and said handle sections when extended forming a long manipulatable handle for the socket with the sections and the socket non-rotatable relative to each other; and a pad of absorbent sponge material attached to said socket and adapted to absorb lotion material for transfer thereof to the skin by the application of the sponge thereto, said substantially rectangular cross section of the handle sections and socket providing for rotation of the socket and sponge relative to the skin by rotation of the handle, said socket and sponge being substantially wider than the largest section of said handle to provide a substantial area of contact, and said socket having an open bottom to said chamber of a width substantially equal to the width of the largest section of the handle to provide direct contact between the handle and the sponge material, so that pressure on the handle will cause a greater unit pressure on the sponge material therebeneath to increase the flow of lotion material therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,185,760 Berry June 6, 1916 2,641,012 Storrs June 9, 1953 2,829,393 'Inrcotte Apr. 8, 1958 2,995,768 Skuratowicz Aug. 15, 1961 

1. AN APPLICATOR FOR SKIN CREAMS AND LOTIONS COMPRISING: A RELATIVELY RIGID SOCKET HAVING A HANDLE RECEIVING CHAMBER THEREIN AND AT LEAST AN END OPENING INTO SAID CHAMBER, A TELESCOPIC HANDLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SECTIONS DISPOSABLE IN SAID CHAMBER IN COLLAPSED RELATION TO FORM A COMPACT PACKAGE, SAID HANDLE BEING EXTENDABLE BY EXTENDING ITS SECTIONS OUT OF SAID END OPENING TO PROVIDE AN ELONGATED OPERATING HANDLE HAVING SAID SOCKET DISPOSED AT ONE END THEREOF; AND A PAD OF ABSORBENT SPONGE MATERIAL SECURED ON SAID SOCKET FOR THE ABSORPTION OF A LOTION MATERIAL TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE SKIN BY APPLICATION OF THE SPONGE THEREAGAINST, SAID SOCKET AND SPONGE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY WIDER THAN THE LARGEST SECTION OF SAID HANDLE TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL AREA OF CONTACT, AND SAID SOCKET HAVING AN OPEN BOTTOM TO SAID CHAMBER OF A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF THE LARGEST SECTION OF THE HANDLE TO PROVIDE DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN THE HANDLE AND THE SPONGE MATERIAL, SO THAT PRESSURE ON THE HANDLE WILL CAUSE A GREATER UNIT PRESSURE ON THE SPONGE MATERIAL THEREBENEATH TO INCREASE THE FLOW OF LOTION MATERIAL THEREFROM. 